ARTS NEWS: Sandeman show in Glasgow, no Best of the West festival in 2019, important instrument banned from export

THE paintings of Margot Sandeman are to be the subject of a new exhibition at Cyril Gerber Fine Art in Glasgow.

Born in Glasgow she was the daughter of Archibald Sandeman 1887-1941, an accomplished artist and Muriel Boyd Sandeman 1887-1981, an embroiderer who trained with Jessie Newbery at Glasgow School of Art.

A prolific painter, Sandeman continued to work until the end of her life, aged 87, leaving a substantial number of paintings and drawings in her studio.

The exhibition in Cyril Gerber Fine Art is a selection of some of scenes of figures in nature, still life and drawings and includes some previously unseen works.

Also on show will be a selection of paintings and drawings gifted to Ms Sandeman by Joan Eardley.

The exhibition will run from 31 January to 23 February.

Cyril Gerber said: "One feels that if Margot Sandeman were not a painter she would have been a poet.

"For her, the thought, the idea, the atmosphere of beautiful trees, shady lanes, sheep as part of the shape of the landscape, are rare, pure and magical things.

"For her too, the idea of young people, gentle, thoughtful, learning, is something very special – an idealistic vision of beauty, hope and knowledge being brought to the world."

Winner of the Guthrie Award, 1964; the Anne Redpath Award, 1970; the Scottish Arts Council Award, 1970 and the Laing Competition, 1989, her works are represented in numerous private and public collections in Scotland and further afield, including the BBC, The Scottish Arts Council, Contemporary Art Society and the City Art Centre, Edinburgh.

www.gerberfineart.co.uk

THE Best of the West festival, which took place in September, has been cancelled for 2019.

Held in Inveraray Castle, it has run for eight years, organised by Argyll Estates, run by the Duchess of Argyll.

A statement said it had been pulled after losing public funding.

The Duchess said: “The reality is that we receive no government support and Argyll and Bute Council have withdrawn their financial assistance whilst providing significant funding to other similar events.

"I wish all festivals and events in Argyll all the best for 2019 and onwards; I know they do a fantastic job in promoting the area and look forward to attending and enjoying some of them with my family.

"It is a huge regret that we can no longer deliver a family festival beneficial to the community in this part of Argyll but to bring a freshness and a continuity to this, or any event, requires support both financial and in kind."

She said that an assessment of benefit of Best of the West to the local economy was more than million pounds annually.

In the eight years of the festival it attracted more than 30,000 visitors to Argyll.

www.bowfest.co.uk

AN 18th century harpsichord has been blocked from export in the hope a UK buyer can be found.

Joseph Mahoon’s ‘double-manual harpsichord’, built in 1738, has been blocked from export by Michael Ellis, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism.

The harpsichord is the only one of its type now known to exist, and one of only two surviving instruments from this decade.

It was sold at auction in June last year.

It was made during a significant musical decade in the UK, in which London was at the forefront of instrument making among the major cities of Europe.

Mahoon was a renowned spinet and harpsichord maker, and was appointed as ‘Harpsichord Maker to His Majestie’, King George II, in 1729. He died in 1773.

Mr Ellis said: "Surviving instruments from this period are crucial in helping us to understand musical and cultural life in 18th century Britain, particularly as there was no way of recording sound.

"There is so much we can learn from this instrument’s history as well as the social context surrounding it, so it is right that we do all we can to preserve this valuable item for the nation."

Until recently, the item had been out of the UK for exhibits at the Germanisches National Museum in Nuremberg and at the Stadtmuseum in Munich.

The decision on the export licence application for the item will be deferred until 10 April 2019.

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